The NCAA, you may have heard, has ended the long-standing practice of two-a-days. There’s evidently some pretty good data behind the decision.
According to the NCAA’s Sport Science Institute, 58 percent of the football practice concussions that occur over the course of a year happen during the preseason. Brian Hainline, the NCAA’s chief medical officer, says August also is a peak month for catastrophic injuries resulting from conditioning rather than contact, such as heatstroke and cardiac arrest.
“There was just something about that month really stood out,” Hainline said. “We couldn’t say with statistical certainty if this was because of the two-a-days, but there was enough consensus in the room and enough preliminary data that it looked like it was because of the two-a-days.”
It was a fairly easy call, as well, because of the current realities of college football.
Coaches say that because players are on campus working out all year, there’s no need to work them quite as hard once preseason practices begin.
“Back in the day, we used two-a-days to get in shape,” Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher said. “You weren’t there all summer. You didn’t come until the second half. They didn’t train from January until June like they do now.”
Jimbo really did a “back in the day” there? That’s real grizzled, man.
Anyway, we finally got a positive from amateurism. Not having a life is good for your health, kids!
Get The Picture 
That is a solid point by Jimbo in support of this, the players are never allowed any time off to get out of shape any more. Two-a-days are not necessary in terms of outside work or pads but prior to school starting their is a need for some classroom and film work. Some of us plan on playing some a few freshmen along the OL. Nothing wrong with some extra brain sprints done in the air conditioning.
LikeLike
^This. Two-a-days had a real place in the past because of conditioning. That reason doesn’t exist any more.
LikeLike
As to the not having a life comment, remember that these kids (at least P5 players) have one career goal in mind. P5 college football is a tryout for that career goal. If it were me, I would likewise be training year-round to try to make that a reality.
LikeLike
Every single kid? I doubt that.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Notable exceptions of course. And to ee’s comment, they are delusional – they are sold on the idea they will make the league despite contrary stats.
LikeLike
If that’s the case, about 98% of these young men are delusional.
LikeLike
That’s probably a fair assessment.
LikeLike
Probably true for the starters but I know for a fact a lot of the other 75 or so on the team are realistic enough to know they aren’t going to play in the NFL.
LikeLike
Agreed. You might have been a great high school player but when you step up a major level like P5 everyone on the team knows who has next level talent. You might be a good and serviceable player but you know when the guy next to you or across from you is a freak.
LikeLike
In related news, studies of 111 brains of ex-NFL players found CTE in 110 of them. The next question is how many of the 110 exhibited signs of dementia before death. There’s a hard rain gonna fall.
LikeLike
Shit….. can remember having three-a-days in HS (2 week summer camp)…..half pads morning and afternoon, full pads in the evening. It weeded out the pretenders pretty damn quick. Wonder when football will go to 2-hand-touch….
LikeLike
REALLY! These young whippersnappers have it easy. Things were a lot tougher when I was young. We used to walk 2 miles just to get to the water bucket, and it was uphill both ways!
LikeLike
We did not offer water, it was only for the weak..
LikeLike
You guys had a bucket? How does that silver spoon taste?
LikeLike
You Ole Boys took my riff and shredded it.
LikeLike
Hell, we practiced on the asphalt in Yuma in August four times a day, all in the afternoon. Punks these days have it easy. For punishment we had to then try to drink the water in the Colorado River.
LikeLike
Pffffffttt. If we wanted a drink of water during practice, we’d just ask a teammate to spit in our mouth. Our tackling sleds were stacked boulders. Our wind sprints were 100 yards up a sand dune and we finished practice with 20 reps of the shuttle drill between the H.S. and the Middle School across town.
We also went 0 – 10 and got our asses kicked every game. Guess the coach wasn’t tough enough on us.
LikeLike
Apparently, your coach/coaches did not work you all hard enough if your teammates had enough to spit.
LikeLike